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HTC reportedly working on Google Now smartwatch, and two other wearables

According to sources who have been in contact with Bloomberg, HTC is working on three wearable products, one of which the company may show off at next week’s Mobile World Congress.

Bloomberg’s source suggests that HTC will be revealing a smartwatch at next week’s conference, but unfortunately the demonstration will likely be taking place behind closed doors, as the company has “no plans to show publicly”.

So why the big hoohar? Well the same source has also revealed some interesting information about these products. Firstly, the smartwatch in question is supposedly based on Qualcomm’s existing ToQ smartwatch. One of the device’s big appeals is the use of the battery efficient Mirasol display, which could be what HTC’s Cher Wang meant when her company claimed that they’d solved the smartwatch battery life conundrum. Functionality wise, the source also said that the smartwatch will feature Bluetooth connectivity and will work as a music player. Qualcomm’s ToQ watch is currently priced at $349.99, hopefully HTC will price its product a little more competitively.

HTC’s first smartwatch could be virtually identical to Qualcomm’s ToQ device, at least in terms of internal hardware.

The second big piece of news is that HTC is reportedly working on another smartwatch which makes use of Google Now. Although little is known about the device, this second watch will likely feature an AMOLED display, according to the source, rather than making use of Qualcomm’s Mirasol technology. If the leak turns out to be accurate, HTC will be the first company to build a Google Now smartwatch. Last October, a source also told The Wall Street Journal that a Google Now watch could be “ready within months”, which gives this latest news a little more credibility, although they didn’t reference HTC directly.

The final product in this leaked line-up is a smart wristband. The band will feature a thin touch-screen display, will work as a music player, and squeezes in an activity-tracking feature too. Interestingly, the source ended the leak with the proviso that HTC may never actually see any of these products through to market.

HTC has been hinting for a while that the company is working on wearable technology, and it’s clear that it could use some products to compete with Samsung and Sony. HTC has previously stated that wearable technology would be “critical” for the company’s future, and that it would be manufacturing a wearable device before the end of 2014. Stay tuned for further details.

Lead Technical Writer at Android Authority, covering the latest trends in consumer electronics and hardware. In his spare moments, you'll probably find him tinkering with audio electronics and programming.